More than BGN 200 million will be allocated for hospital care by 2020, the government announced. This happened after a meeting at the Council of Ministers with the CITUB and the Health Minister Kiril Ananiyev and against the background of a national protest by medical professionals.
More money to pay and more control over how that money is spent – protesters demanded it. Health Minister Kiril Ananiyev has vowed to monitor the allocation of millions so that there will be no more protests. For the first time, such a large amount is allocated to the hospital system in the budget of the Fund. This money will come in by increasing the cost of clinical pathways.
The cries of the protesting medical professionals reached the ears of power. And the good news came.
Plamen Dimitrov – Chairman of CITUB: The budget of the treasury for the next year will be set aside 200 million more for the first time in many years.
It is the first time such a huge resource has been allocated to the hospital system, the health minister said.
Kiril Ananiev – Minister of Health: The overwhelming majority, at least two thirds of them have to go to increase personnel costs, and in our accounts, if two thirds go, they will cover the target levels for the CTD.
Too many promises we have heard so far, says operative nurse Ariela Mihailova from Pleven.
Ariel Mihailova – Operative Sister, Pleven: I don’t think things will work out this time either. Some minimum amount to increase our salaries, but it is not what we want.
Over the past year, her salary has increased, statistics show, but by BGN 20.
This is yet another protest this year, demanding a pay rise for medical professionals. This time it was organized by CITUB and the professional organization. The Nurses Association did not support him. Representatives of the Bulgarian Medical Association were also missing.
Since the beginning of the year, up to now, BGN 86 million has been allocated for salaries. Initially, 30 million were given from the budget, then 50 million, which was reduced to 6, which required an additional 50 million to be unlocked by the Health Fund.